Entries this day: Day Late!_argh Today_cont. niveen_wedding_plans

Day

12:10pm JST Wednesday 19 July 2006

Lazy day today; Jesse cooked a fantastic brunch and then was working on his computer some until oops he was a couple minutes late for his 1:45 meeting friends downstairs. I was like "la la la" glad to have all the free time in the world.

- - - -

Working on my website, found an issue with symlinks; for some reason I ended up with some circular symlinks in my journal directories (2006/08 and 2006/09 pointed back to themselves) and while correcting that, I noticed that orphaned symlinks are showing up like good symlinks, even though their color code (according to dircolors) appears to be set to RED with black background or something.

The main and my local LS_COLORS variable has orphans set to a noticible color, but... when I ls, they are not noticeable.

Possibly

Late! argh

2:07pm JST Wednesday 19 July 2006

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

That was my immediate response when I got the email from Hideo, at the CPC thing asking if I was going to come today or not.

Ah, crap. 1000% forgot, and was happily listening to tunes, chatting with Calder, wondering why orphaned links on my bash shell are not showing up in bright colors.

2:34pm

It appears I will make it to Azalea by 2:45, which Hideo said would be okay as I freaked, shut down the computer and almost ran out before confirming that time would be okay.

3:17pm JST Wednesday 19 July 2006

Made it. Received 4000 yen for applying. Sweet!

I bought him a thing of chocolate covered almonds, but he was so gracious about forgiving my transgression of lateness that I couldn't bear to give it to him.

And, mmmmmmmm, chocolate.

Today cont.

4:30pm JST Wednesday 19 July 2006

So, anyway, possibly either the links actually do exist (though ls says otherwise) or because they are directories, it doesn't count (but everything is a file in unix). Not even sure how to look this up online without finding hella random help requests in non-helpful help forums of users spouting just so they can spout.

niveen wedding plans

10:29am JST Wednesday 19 July 2006

Niveen is getting married! Her life is getting royally screwed by Israeli bureacracy, though; she won't be allowed to live in her home city any more. This is her email to all the 49th voyage GET Teachers and some staff.

Dear Friends,
 
I don't know where to start my message from in the middle of this conflict that I'm living now,
which also extended to reach Lebanon!
 
Things are really getting worse around here in Palestine.  No peace will ever take place as long as
the Israelis are only after the land without the people!!!  What they are doing now is a proof that
they don't care about Palestinians' lives as much as their Israeli soldiers who already provoking
civilians and then killing them.
 
Anyhow, I'm not writing this message to talk about the situation here, but I feel sad to celebrate
my wedding while Palestinians and Lebanease people are being killed every day!
 
The reason of my message is that I'm getting married next month! and I would like to invite you to
be by my side in this transforming step in my life.... You know how much I care for you and love you
in the mean time, because you're such a wonderful people that I have never ever met in my
life...... Your big effect on me and supporting me mentaly and personally meant a lot to me during
my stay on Peace Boat... I feel like I made the most wonderful friends that I will never be able to
form in years......  I TRULY MISS YOU A GREAT DEAL , HONESTLY...
 
I have tried my best to do something about peace before I get married, I even wrote a paper which
will be published this year along with more papers and will be inluded in one book... I even wrote
about my experience as stateless when I came back from Peace Boat and couldn't get into the country
-especially that neither the palestinian embassy could help me nor the israeli embassy listed to me
- because I forgot a silly paper like a permission with Allison.....but now I feel really down that
I'm leaving Palestine and everything I started in my beloved country.

If you're eager to know why I'll tell you briefly that my Fiance (who used to be my class-mate in
the university) is a Palestinian living in the West Bank, while I live in Jerusalem!  now, there is
a descrimination policy in the israeli government which is the policy of decreasing the number of
palestinians in jerusalem to ensure a jewish majority in jerusalem and win it as a capital of Israel
!!  Therefore, if a palestinian - in jerusalem- will get married from the west bank and vice versa ,
has to apply for family reunification - even though he/she is a palestinian-!!!!!!!!!!!  soooo, in
order to decrease the palestinian residency in jerusalem, they freezed this process !!!! and
applications are no longer accepted :( therefore I'm leaving the country..... to be able to live
with my fiance!!!!!  end of story :...(
 
I hate to be part of this discrimination policy guys, but these are the rules under occupation!!
Therefore, temporarely, i'm moving to Saudi Arabia for a while and then we'll both try to immigrate
somewhere like Canda or Australia... whatever , don't know yet!
 
Anyhow, I really wish that anyone of you can make it..... I know I should've wrote this email
earlier, but God knows how confused I were because of everything happening around me!
 
I wish that you are allllllllllll ok.... and would like to tell you, that even though I'm forced to
leave Palestine, it will always be in my spirit wherever I go, and you too, i'll keep on touch with
you wherever I go, and alwaaaays.......
 
I wish to hear from you and would be happy really to see you again my lovely GET TEACHERS
 
ALL THE BEST,
 
YOUR PALESTINIAN FRIEND.......
 
NIVEEN...

I replied, and decided to CC all the same GETs and staff (plus correcting Pat's and Petra's email addresses), to break the proverbial ice. Plus, I hope someone will give me funding for tickets to Niveen's wedding.

HI Niveen!!

My dear, thank you for your email.  It's really beautiful to imagine that I have been part of
something good in your life.  You are incredibly strong and brave to face all that you do every day,
and I'm so thankful that you encouraged me to come visit and see for myself what is happening.

In my recent Rob Update, I encouraged people to write to their political leaders to stop Israel's
aggressive action.  Two of my friends wrote back asking me why I thought it was Israel, so it's my
pleasure now to educate two more people.

I understand it feels strange to get married while other people are getting killed.  But, what would
those people want you to do?  Cry for them?  I doubt it.  Continue to live your life, and continue
to have strength and courage to educate people about the truth.

I have plenty of time to come to your wedding.  Do you or fiance have plenty of money to pay for my
air ticket?  I was able to pay cash when I came to visit the first time.  That was basically all my
savings, though; breaking my shoulder put me back even further.  I can't really afford to come again
right now.

Is the wedding in Jerusalem?  Bethlehem?  Saudi Arabia? (I don't know any cities there)

I imagine it would be difficult for a tourist to come into Palestine through Ben G airport these days.


I think about you a lot more often than I write; It just feels weird for me to be all happy and
genki ....I imagine it's the same as your feeling around your wedding.

Hugs and Love
   - Rob!